sententious
Americanadjective
-
abounding in pithy aphorisms or maxims.
a sententious book.
-
given to excessive moralizing; self-righteous.
- Synonyms:
- moralistic, sanctimonious, didactic, preachy
-
given to or using pithy sayings or maxims.
a sententious poet.
-
of the nature of a maxim; pithy.
adjective
-
characterized by or full of aphorisms, terse pithy sayings, or axioms
-
constantly using aphorisms, etc
-
tending to indulge in pompous moralizing
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sententious
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin sententiōsus “meaningful, pithy”; see sentence, -ous
Explanation
If you speak in sententious phrases, your listeners are probably falling asleep, as your speech is pompous and pretentious, and full of moralistic babble. When sententious first appeared in English — back in the late Middle Ages — it meant "full of wisdom," but now it usually has a negative sense, meaning heavy handed and self-important. The sententious blowhard makes people laugh, and you can probably think of at least three cartoon characters who fit the bill — often a politician or minister who drones on and on, oblivious to the fact that his audience is snickering or trying to sneak out.
Vocabulary lists containing sententious
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Common Senses: Sent, Sens ("Feel")
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s clearly vying to be shelved alongside the sententious Stoic self-help books that have become trendy among seekers of meme-able ancient wisdom in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
On the other hand, the sententious segues and gassed-up encomiums to whatever B-list star was arriving onstage were eliminated.
From New York Times ● Jun. 12, 2023
Sometimes, though, he drifts into a more sententious, editorial register.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 21, 2022
This is the foggy lens through which our most sententious pundits are—week after week—doggedly committed to viewing the state of American society.
From Slate ● Mar. 2, 2018
It would be the conclusion composed by one who had lost his literary illuminator, formal, brief, sententious, and comprehensive.
From The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels by John William Burgon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
